Major snooker event returns to nation after 35 YEARS in brand-new state-of-the-art arena with whopping £700k prize pot

HONG Kong is preparing to big its archetypal ranking snooker lawsuit successful 35 years.

The World Grand Prix is heading connected circuit to the caller state-of-the-art Kai Tak Sports Park.

The contention volition instrumentality spot successful the city-state from March 4-9 adjacent year.

Since its inception successful 2015, the World Grand Prix has been staged successful the UK.

With abstraction for implicit 4,000 spectators, the Sports Park volition play big to snooker’s biggest-ever unrecorded assemblage for a ranking tournament.

Set to unfastened successful aboriginal 2025, the long-delayed stadium is connected the tract of the erstwhile Kai Tak airport.

Set implicit 28 hectares, the Main Stadium has a capableness of 50,000 and features a flexible transportation strategy designed to power betwixt turf and different surfaces.

Only the astir palmy 32 players of the play volition gain a spot successful adjacent year's Grand Prix, which is the opening lawsuit successful the prestigious Players Series.

Prize money for the lawsuit has skyrocketed since past year, from £380,000 to a full purse of £700,000.

And the victor successful Hong Kong volition locomotion distant with a chill £180,000.

CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS

WST CEO Simon Brownell said: "We are hugely excited to beryllium taking specified a monolithic lawsuit to Hong Kong.

"This is simply a determination which is successful enactment with our strategy to person a greater organisation of snooker’s biggest tournaments astir the satellite and further globalise the sport.

"Hong Kong is simply a territory and marketplace of peculiar value for us, and we are delighted to beryllium utilising this caller world-class venue.

"Having a semipermanent ranking lawsuit successful specified a salient planetary metropolis is fantastic quality for the tour."

The lone erstwhile ranking lawsuit successful the metropolis was mode backmost successful 1989, erstwhile Mike Hallett defeated Dene O’Kane 9-8 successful the last of the Hong Kong Open.

Two years ago, an invitational Hong Kong Masters saw Ronnie O’Sullivan decision Marco Fu 6-4 successful the final.

The lucifer was played successful beforehand of a satellite grounds 9,000 fans astatine the Hong Kong Coliseum.

Brownell continued: "We were impressed by the levels of enactment astatine the Hong Kong Masters successful 2022.

"The 9,000 fans successful attendance for the last created a magical atmosphere.

"We would similar to convey F Sports Promotions for bringing america backmost to Hong Kong and we look guardant to moving again with the Billiard Sports Council of Hong Kong China successful this prestigious event."